We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Theken. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.

Lindsay, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Ethical manufacturing. In the headwear industry, I’d venture to say many companies source manufacturing overseas and mass produce their gear. HeadPeace is different because we support an amazing company in Nepal who’s passion is to help the most marginalized in society to fresh starts and fulfilled lives. Trafficking and slavery is a huge problem in Nepal and India, and Purnaa strives to make the world a better place. They do so by offering a great job environment that is free from discrimination and abuse, paying above living wages, and offering education and scholarships for adults and their families. HeadPeace is honored to be a part of this amazing mission.

Lindsay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I will be honest, I had never done anything this entrepreneurial before. Looking back, I was probably way out of my element. I had been listening to podcasts and reading books on how to start your own business. I knew I didn’t want a service-oriented business, so I started thinking about products I could create and sell. I love headbands, and because I couldn’t find the perfect one in the marketplace, I decided that was where it was at for me. I knew that by combining design elements from a few of my favorites, I could create the perfect headband – one that was comfortable, stylish, and functional.
After researching how I would find a manufacturer, I realized most of these textile companies were located in China. This was a little discouraging to me for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t speak Chinese and I really had no idea how to find out how their employees were treated or the conditions in which they worked. While I am sure most of these factories were reputable, the lack of transparency just didn’t sit well with me. I knew I wanted to find a manufacturer that was committed to operating in an ethical and socially- responsible way, and was also able to offer high-quality product. So, I put my project on hold until I could find the right partner.
As luck would have it, a few weeks later, I ended up striking up a conversation with another mom at my daughter’s gymnastics practice. She told me her family was from Colorado, but lived in Nepal, where her family has a fair trade, ethical manufacturing company, called Purnaa. I learned that Purnaa helps women coming out of slavery and sex-trafficking situations get back on their feet by providing them employment opportunities in the garment industry. I immediately knew my partnership with Purnaa was meant to be! I now refer to this chance encounter as my “divine coincidence.”
Over the next few months, my husband and I worked closely with this wonderful couple on designing my headbands, picking out fabrics, and creating a manufacturing plan…and HeadPeace was born!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Growing a small business is hard! I’ve found the best source of new clients has come from acquiring wholesale accounts. I do this by attending trade shows and sending thousands of emails to business owners that I think might want to carry my headwear line in their stores. Finding the proper person to reach out to with larger chain stores can be tricky, but can usually be achieved with research and trial and error. I typically send a series of 3 emails to these prospective store owners–many times it takes a few emails or calls to get a response. I’ve found a lot of my direct traffic to my website comes from customers who have purchased an item in a store and loved it!

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I’m a Shopify girl. I’ve tried other platforms in the past (including Amazon and Etsy), but Shopify seems to be the easiest and most profitable platform to use. What I love about Shopify is that you pay a monthly fee ($29/month) and you don’t need to pay any commissions beyond credit card processing fees. I definitely wouldn’t recommend using the “if you build it, they will come” mentality….you’ll still need to drive traffic to your website. I typically run Facebook and Google ads, but much of my traffic comes from the hundreds of monthly emails I send to prospective business owers.
On the wholesale side, I use Faire. Faire is an online marketplace for wholesale accounts. If you send someone to Faire, you pay no commission and your client gets free shipping for a year, NET60 terms and up to $150 in free product (that Faire pays for). If someone finds you on Faire, they take a small commission for orders–but I figure it’s business I wouldn’t have had otherwise, so I’m happy to pay it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.headpeace.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/headpeaceheadbands
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/headpeaceheadbands

Image Credits

Photography by Milana